Vending machine



June 19, 1923.

7 1,459,504 A. D. GROVER ET AL VENDING MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 12, 1915 2 Sheets-Sheelnv l INVENT 0 5- Jilbert I]. arm/er.

- Earl 11B '"rber any.

June 19, 1923.

A. D. GROVER ET AL VENDING MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 12, 1915 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 e5 INVENT 5 5- u lbert .1). Gnome Patented June 19, 153922, barren i Q E ALBERT D. GROVEE, OF NEVJ YORK, N. 5. AND EABL E. BARBER, OF BOSTON, MASSA- CHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS, TEESNE ASSIGJNEEENTS, TO AUTOSALES CORPORATION,

A GOREOR-ATION OF NEW YORK.

VENDING MACHINE.

Application fi1er1 October 12, 1915, Serial No. 55,371. Renewed January 17, 1921. Serial No. 437,964.

To all 'UJ/LOHZ it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALnnR'r D. Gnovnn and EARL E. lisnnnn, citizens of the United States. and residents, respectively of New York, county and State of New York, and Boston. county oi Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to vending machines adapted to be operated upon the deposition of a proper coin for the delivery of a suitable commodity and has for its general ob ject the provision of a machine embodying various features of novelty over the con structions in prior machines. Our machine is of the magazine type and is so compact in its arrangement of parts that a machine containing several magazines takes up comparatively little room. The different parts that go to make up our machine are enclosed in a substantially rectangular casing, preferably made of sheet metal, beyond which no parts project to cause obstruction or uni sightliness. Our machine is thus excellently adapted for use in places where but little space is avaiIa-ble as, for instance, on railroad cars.

This application is division. in part. of our co-pe nding case, Serial No. 711,797, filed July 27, .912. Owing to oiiicial requirements for division, the claims in said parent case are restricted to the coin-controlled features of our invention. and the subject-matter of the present application relates to the delivery mechanism of our machine and other structural features which had to be divided out of the aforesaid co-pending application.

One object of our invention as claimed in this case is to provide a inultiplemagazine machine in which the operating mechanism associated with each magazine is carried by a framework which is removable as a unit from the machine. independently of the other mechanisms. A so. the magazines associated with the ejecting mechanisms are so mounted in the casing to be readily removable independently of each other.

A 't'urther object of our present invention is to provide a no el form of delivery-chute tor the ejected packages. This deliverychute is mounted on the removable front wall of the casing and provided with means for preventing the ejected package from falling out and supporting it in a position to be easily withdrawn by the purchaser.

Another feature of novelty which characterizes the invention of this case is the means whereby the hand-operated plunger does not project beyond the plane of the front wall of the casing, a closed cup-shaped chamber being provided to house the projecting portion of the plunger.

ii. further object of our present invention is to provide a simple form of delivery mechanism whichslides on top of a framework, and carries a pivoted spring-pressed member adapted to engage the lowermost article in the magazine.

The above and other objects and advantages of our invention will become apparent from a detailed description of the accom panying drawings, in which.

Fig. l, is a longitudinal view in cross-section of a machine embodying our invention, the parts being shown in normal position and portions of the casing being shown broken away. 7'

Fig. 2, is a cross-sectional view at right angles to Fig. 1 taken approximately on line 2 2 oi Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, is a longitudinal cross-section approximately on line 33 of Fig. 4:, showing the construction of the entire casing of the machine.

Fig. 4, is a front exterior view of a machine constructed in accordance with our invention: and

Fig. 5, is a fragmentary view in plan showing the ejecting fingers of the delivery mechanism. I

The various parts which make ,up the mechanism of our invention are housed in a substantially rectangular casing constructed preferably of sheet metal and comprising a front wall or panel 1, rear wall 2, sides 3 and 4h a top or cover 5 and bottom 6. In other words. the casing inits preferre form consists of a flat plate section and a bot-like section. The free edge of the boxlike secti on is bent back upon itself as shown at 7 to provide a double thickness of metal for re nforcement. The frontpanel or plate section 1 is formed with a continuous flange 8 which is adapted to fit over the reinforced edge 7 of the box-like section, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. In this way a tight closure is effected between the two sections of the casing and the reinforcement along the line of closure prevents the parts from being easily separated by the attempted insertion.

cured to the top portion of the flange 8 and extending downwardly through corresponding openings in the top of the casing, as shown in Fig. 3. A lock 10 of any suitable construction is secured upon the inner side of the front panel near the bottom, and the bolt 11 of the lock is adapted to engage the upstanding lug 12 of the locking plate 13 secured to the bottom 6 of the casing in any suitable manner. T 0 remove the front panel it is, therefore, only necessary to unlock it at the bottom and then swing the panel outwardly at its lower end sufficiently to permit its being lifted out of engagement with the casing at the top.

In the casing are secured two transverse shelves or partitionsan upper shelf 14 and a lower shelf These shelves are held in place in. any suitable inanneras, for instance, by means of rivets 16, which pass through the sides of the casing and through flanges 17 formed at the two ends of the shelves. The upper shelf 14 is arranged to support a series of magazines or compartments in which the vendable articles are stacked. The number of magazines may vary, depending upon the size and capacity intended for the machine. In the particular form shown in the drawings, the machine contains four magazines indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4 at M M M and M The front panel 1 is preferably provided with side openings 18, one in front of each magazine, these openings being covered by a piece of glass 19 or other transparent material suitably held in place on the inside of the plate section 1. Each of these magazines is a unit in itself and is removable from the casing independently of the other magazines. The magazine is substantially rectangular in form and is proportioned to accommodate the vendable articles. The magazines are preferably, constructed of sheet metal and comprise a rear wall 20, sides 21 and front flanges 22. To the rear wall of each magazine near the bottom thereof is secured a .horizontal rod 23 in any desired manner.

ted brackets 24, the magazines are firmly held in place without danger of disarrangement during the operation or transport-ion of the machine. As seen from Figs. 3 and 5, the brackets 24 extend forward sufficiently,

to engage the sides of the magazines. This positively prevents lateral movement of the magazines. Such movement is also prevented by the rods 23 abutting against each other, as seen from Fig. 2. A spring 26 may be provided at the top of the casing to hook over the top of each magazine at 27 to assist in maintaining the magazines in an upright position when the machine is moved about.

Beneath each magazine is arranged a coiiicontrolled ejecting mechanism adapted to be operated upon the insertion of a proper coin to eject the goods from the associated mega zine. Each mechanism is carried by a framework slidably mounted on the lower shelf 15 and removable independently of the other mechanisms. As the particular machine shown in the drawings is a founcompartment machine, there are four of these frameworks. diagrammatically indieated in Fig. 4- at F F F3 and F. Asthese frameworks and the mechanisms carried thereby are identical in construction, it will be necessary to describe only one of the frameworks and its mechanism. Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the framework F is at its lower end provided with a pair of inwardly turned flanges 28 adapted to interlock with upwardly and outwardly turned flanges 2 formed on the shelf 15. The flanges 29 are arranged in pairs, one pair for each frame-- work, so that each framework may he slid into position on the shelf, or removed therefrom without disturbing the frameworks. As seen from Fig. 2, the adjacent sides of the frameworks are quite close together. On each side of the framework near the bottom is provided a pair of inwardly turned flanges 30 spaced apart to form a pair of opposite guide ,QI'OOVQS or channels for the base-plate 31 of the coin-carrier This coin-carrier is formed with an inclined surface 33 from which projects a pin From the lower end of the inclined surface extends a ledge or shoulder 35 which provides a coin-retaiiring groove or recess for a proper coin. The coin-carrier and its associated parts claimed in our aforesaid co-pending application, Serial No. 711.797, and we do not,

therefore, make any claims in this case to the coin-carrier construction. When a proper coin is deposited. it rests at its lower end in the groove 36 and is held in an inclined posh tion either by the lower end of the coin-chute 37 or the pin'34. as indicated in Fig. 1, where the deposited coin is shown at C. The purpose of the pin 34 is to bear. against the center of the coin andco-operate with the shoulder 35 to hold a coin in rigid position on the carrier. Should the deposited check be a washer or other disc with a central perforation. the disc or check will fall back on the inclined surface 33 of the coin-carrier into an inoperative position. The coin-chnte 37, which guides the coin to the coin-carrier is secured in position by any suitable means. The coin-carrier operated by means of the plunger 38 which is in the form of a hollow rod secured to the downward extension 31) of the carrier. Screws 40 on the extension 39 engage the annular flange 41 formed at the rear end of the plunger 38 and hold the same in fixed position to the coin-carrier. A coil spring 42 bears at one end against the front head of the hollow plunger and at the other end against the rear of the framework. to automatically return the coin-carrier to its normal position, shown in Fig. l. The spring 42 is coiled about a guide rod 43 extending forwardly from the rear wall of the framework. This guide rod extends par tially in the hollow plunger and prevents the spring from buckling when the plunger is pushed in. If desired. the machine ma v he provided with any of the well known full stroke mechanisms of the prior art to compel full inward movement of the coin-carrier before it can return to normal position. As such full-stroke devices are well known in the prior art, we have not deemed it necessary to show or describe any particular form thereof.

In the sides of each framework is journaled a transverse shaft 44 which carries an operating lever 45. As will be explained later on in detail, the upper end of th lever 45 is connected with the ejecting mechanism which is slidably mounted on top of the framework. A spring 46 normally holds the lever 45 in the position shown in Fig. i. This spring is coiled about the shaft 44 and. bears at one end against the pin 4? on the lever 45, while the other end engages the pin 48 projecting inwardly from one side of the framework. When the lever 45 is in normal posit-ion, its lower end 49 is in such relation to the coin-carrier and the lower end of the coin-chute 37 that a. coin will, at its upper edge, project slightly above said lower end 49 and in close proximity thereto. T1 is clearly shown in Fig. 1. The coin-ca rler and lever 45 are approximately in vertical alignment as seen from Fig. 2, so that the upper edge of the coin will engage the lower end 49 approximately in a central line pass ing through the coin. The spring; 46 tQllnS to rock the lever 45 in clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 1). The moven'ient of the lever in this direction is limited by the stop 50 which bears against the lever near its upper end. This stop is preferably formed by bending; a portion of the rear wall forwardly. To the rear wall of the casing is lined a pair of brackets 51. only one of which is shown in Fig. 1. On a pin 52, journaled in these brackets, is mounted a coin stripper comprising a pair of spaced stripping arms 53. Each of these arms has an upper extension 54 and a lower extension 55. A leaf spring 56 secured to the rear wallof the framework bears at its lower end against the upper extension 54 to hold the'arms in a substantially horizontal position, as shown in Fig. l. The lower eXt-ension limits the abutting against the rear wall of the frame work. The stripping arms are at their free ends provided with hook portions 57 having; inclined surfaces As seen from Fig.1; 2, the arms of the coin-stripper are arranged on either side of the operating lever v The operation of the coin-controlled mechanism, as far as described, will now be clearly understood and may be briefly stated follows: Assuming that a proper coin has descended through the chute 37 to the coin-carrier 32, it will lean against the lower end of the coin-chute with its upper edge in close proximity to the lower end 49 of the operating lever 45. This is clearly shown in Fig.1. now the plunger 38 be pushed inwardly against the .tension of the spring 42, the coin-carrier 32 is moved rearwardly carrying with it the coin C. It will be clear from Fig. 1 that it needs but a very slight movement of the coin-carrier to bring the downward movement of the coin-stripper by pin 34 against the coin. As the coin-carrier is moved inwardly, the upper edge of the coin engages the lower end 49 of the operating lever 45 and rocks the'same in a'counterclockwise direction (as viewedin Fig; 1). During this movement of the coin carrier, the coin is held. in rigid position thereon by means of the pin 34 and the shoulder In this way the coin forms a rigid movable connection between the coin-carrier and the operating lever 45. When the coin comes into engagement with the stri 'aping arms53, it rides under the inclined surfaces 58 and rocks the arms upwardly until it passes by the hooked portion 57, whereupon the arms are rocked down under the influence of the spring 56. When the coin-carrier returns, the coin encounters the hooked portion 57 of the stripping arms 53 and is thereby tilted rearwardly until it falls from the coincarrier into the coin-box 59 atthe bottom of the casing. i w

As seen from Figs. 1 nd 2, the upper end of the lever 45 has a slot 60 in which engages the pin 61 carried by a pair of spaced. lugs or ears 62 extending downwardly from the ejector plate 63. This plate is mounted to slide over the top flanges 64 of the framework. The sides of the plate 63 extend over the flanges 64. seen from-Fig. 2, and reraining lugs are provided onthe plate 63 to the underside of the flanges 64 to prevent vertical displacement of the ejector plate. The lugs 65 may be conveniently struck up from the metal of the ejector plate itself. At its rear the plate 63 is provided with a pair of spaced bearing lugs 66, as

best shown in Fig. 5. A pin 67 is supported at its ends in the lugs 66 and hasrotata- 'bly' mounted thereon a substantially llshaped framework which comprises a pair of forwardlyextending arms 68 arranged beneath the plate 63 and connected at the rear by a cross-piece 69. The arms 68 are through slots 7 6 formed in the transverse in Figs/l and 5. to throw the ejecting lugs 72 upwardly and hold them in an upright position, as shown shelf or partition 14. The rear wall of each magazine isat its lower end provided with slots 77 through which the e ecting lugs 72 may freely pass to engage the lowermost article in the magazine and push the same out of the magazine. The spring 78 coiled about the pin 67 bears'at one end on the ejector plate 63, as shown at 79 in Fig. 5, and at the other end on the cross-piece 69 of the ejecting frameworln'as shown at 80 The spring 78 thus tends in Fig. 1. The operation of the ejecting mechanism will now be clearly understood and is as follows: When the lever a5 is operated through the medium of the deposited coin, asheretofore described in detail, the plate 63 is moved forwardly over the supporting framework. During this movement of the ejector plate 63, the lugs 72 engage the lowermost article G (which is intended. to represent a small box or package containing any suitable commodity), and push the same out of the magazine into the delivery-chute D carried by the front panel 1 of the casing. During the return movement of theejector mechanism the ejecting lugs 72 are automatically depressed and ride under the stack of articles. As soon as the lugs have cleared the lowermost pack age, they snap up into ejecting position under the act-ion of spring 78.

' The delivery chute D is preferably formed out of sheet metal and is secured to the front panel in any suitable way. At its lower end, the rear wall 81 of the delivery chute terminates in a flange 82 which rests against the front panel-for receiving suitable fastening devices, such as screws, bolts or the like. The rear wall 81 is curved rearwardly at 83 to form a deep recess or chamber opposite the delivery opening 8a in the front panel. To prevent the ejected goods from falling out of the chamber 83, we provide a rearwardly-inelined shelf or ledge 85 which extends into the mouth of the dement with each magazine. so as to receive the goods ejected from that magazine. These retaining ledges need not be very wide. The position of a delivered package on the shelf is indicated in dotted lines at G in Fig. 1. This not only prevents the package from falling out of the delivery chute but supports it in position to be easily withdrawn by the patron. If desired, one or more guide rods 88 may be fixed at the upper end of the delivery chute to assist in directing the ejected package properly down the chute. These rods may be secured to a cross-bar 89 mounted in the sides of the chute D. The plate 87 is secured to the front panel by means of rivets 90 or in any other suitable way. This plate is formed with a recess 9.1 into which the plungers 38 extend. The recess 91, therefore, forms a housing for the projecting ends of the plungers which terminate substantially flush with the front of the casing. The openings 92 in the rear wall of the recess 91 for receiving the plungers are sufficiently large to permit the lower end of the panel to be swung outwardly about the pins 9 as a pivot. As the openings 92 are at a considerable distance from the point of rotation of the front panel, they need not be very much larger ban the diameter of the plungers.

The coin is deposited into the machine through a coin-entrance slot 93, of which there are many as there are magazines. The deposited coin is guided into the coinchute 37 through the passage way 94 and the pivoted coin switch 95. The purpose of the coin-switch is to automaticallyrefund a deposited coin when the associated magazine is empty. Although this coin-refunding feature is not claimed in this case, since it forms the subject-matter of another divisional case of our aforesaid co-pending application, we will here briefly describe the operation thereof, so as to complete the description of what is shown in the drawings. On top of the goods in each magw zine rests a weight W provided with an extension 96. exhausted, the extension 96 engages the rearward projection 97 on the coin-switch and tilts the same rearwardly into such a position that the deposited coin is not guided WVhen the supply of goods is into the coin-chute S'Y'but is deflected over.

that we do not intend to be limited to such,

a construction, but that various changes and modifications may be made without depart ing from the scope of the invention as de fined in the appended claims. Furthermore, it is apparent that certain features of our invention may be used without certain other features.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and, desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. in a vending machine having an outer casing, a transverse shelf or par 1 ion secured in said casing, a plurals of unit frameworks mounted on said transve shelf side by side, ejecting mechanism mounted in each of said frameworl coop-- erating means on said shelf and frameworks for rigidly securingeach irameworl on the shelf independently of the others, second transverse shelf secured in said casing above said frameworks, a plurality of magazines mounted on said second shelf by side in vertical alignment with said frameworks, and cooperating means on said second shelf and said magazines for removably securing each magazine in place on said second shelf independently of the others.

2. In a vending machine having an outer casing, a. transverse shelf or partition cured in said casing, pairs of slotted upstanding lugs on said shelf, and a plurality of magazines provided each at the lower end with a horizontal rod adapted to engage a pair of said lugs by entering the slots thereof, whereby said magazines are removably mounted on said shelf side by side, independently of each other, a plurality of frameworks mounted in said casing below said transverse shelf, and delivery mechanisms mounted in said frame-works, said magazines being supported on said shelf entirely independently of said mechanism-carrying frame-works 3. In a vending machine having a closed outer casing, the front wall or panel of which is readily removable, a magazine mounted within said casing independently of said removable front wall, a delivery chute carried by said front wall, mechanism mounted with in said casing below said magazine and independently of said removable front wall for delivering goods from said magazine forwardly into said chute, and a hand-oper able member projecting through said front wall or panel below said delivery chute for operating said mechanism.

4. In a vending machine having a closed outer casing, the front .wall or panel of which is readily removable, a delivery chute carried by said front wall, and arearwardly and downwardly inclined shelf or at the n'iouth of said chute for holding the goods in position to be easily withdrawn.

5. In a vending machine having a closed outer casing, the front wall or panel of whirl ,is readily removable, a delivery chute carried by said front wall, mechanism within the casing for delivering goods into, sale chute, a hand-operated member below said delivery chutefor operating said mechanisn'i, and a plate secured to said front wall and having a rearwardly. extending recess or chamber formed therein for accommodating the r I posed portion of said hand-operate fl meniher, said plate being at its uiper end piovided with a rearwardly inclined shelf or ledge wh ch pro ects into'the mouth of the delivery chute for supporting the goods in 1 position to be easily withdrawn.

6. In a vending machine having a de livery opening in one of its walls, a plate secured to said wall and having at its upper end a plurality of inwardly inclined ledges or shelves which are suitably spaced apart and project into said opening for support ing the goods in position to be easily withdrawn.

7. In a vending machine, a casing having a magazine for containing the vendable articles, a framework removably mounted in said casing below said magazine, a plate slidably mounted on top of said framework, an ejector pivotally mounted on said plate and adapted to eject the lowermost article out of said magazine, means for yieldably holding said ejector inejecting position, saidholding means permitting the ejector to slide under the column of articles during the re turn movement of said plate, a swinging lever mounted between the side walls of said removable framework and connected with said plate, and hand operable means for actuat-ing said lever. i

8. In a vending machine, a casing provided with a removable front plate or panel having adelivery opening, a descending dee livery chute secured to said plate and terminating in an enlarged recess or chamber back of said delivery opening, a magazine mounted within said casingabove and to the rear of said delivery chute, ejecting mechanism mounted independently of said front plate below said magazine and back of said delivery chute, and a hand-operable plunger below said delivery opening for operating said ejecting mechanism.

9. In a vending machine, an outer casing, a horizontal transverse shelf or partition secured between the vertical side walls of said casing in the lower portion thereof, said shelf being provided with pairs of look ing projections or flanges runningsubstanprojects forwardly through the front wall of the framework, each framework and its ejecting mechanism being complete in itself and independent of the other frameworks, lugs or flanges on the lower end of each framework to engage and interlock with a pair of lugs or flanges on said shelf when the framework is slid rearwardly into proper position on the shelf, whereby each.

framework is securely held on said shelf independently of the others and is readily removable without disturbing the others by sliding it forwardly out of'engagement with the projections on the shelf, an upright goods magazine removably positioned over each framework so that the ejecting mechanism of that frameworkwill upon operation of'tlie plunger eject the goods from the lower end of the magazine, a removable front panel on said casing, said'front panel having openings to allow said plungers to project therethrough for manual operation, an open delivery chamber or recess provided on said front-panel above said plunger openings and a plurality of delivery chutes mounted on the inside wall of said remorable panel to guide the ejected packages projects forwardly through the front wallof the framework, cooperating means on said shelf and said framework for rigidly securing the framework to the shelf, said cooperating means being easily separable to permitthe ready removal'of said framework, a goods magazine removably' positioned over said framework so that the ejecting mechanism will upon operation of the plunger eject the goods from the lower end of the magazme, removable front panel on said casing, said front panel having a large opening in alignment with said plunger, the front end of said plunger being substantially flush with the outer Wall of said panel, a cylindrical wall or housing arranged between said plunger opening in the panel and the front wall of said framework, said cylindrical wall forming a chamber for the projecting portion of the plunger, an open delivery chamber or recess provided on said front panel above said plunger opening, and

a delivery chute mounted on the inside wall of said removable panel to guide the ejected packages from the magazines to the delivery chamber.

In witness whereof, we hereunto sub scribe our names on the days below written.

7 ALBERT D. GROVER. Subscribed Sept. 24th, 1915.

EARL E. BARBER. Subscribed Sept. 22, 1916. 

